Gas compressor



J. F. WINKLER GAS COMPRESSOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 24, 1946 Y 4 6 TL E M 4 2 a w 3 VM 1 a e A F VJ E w. M 0 0O 7 w a! 5 g 1950 J. F. WINKLER 2,51 7,367

GAS COMPRESSOR Filed Sept. 24, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EPH WINKLER ATTOEA E).

A still further object is to produce a Patented Aug. 1, x 1950 GAS COMPRESSOR Joseph F. Winkler, Philadelphia, Pa.; Alma Stamberger Winkler, executrix of said Joseph F. Winkler, deceased, assignor to Winkler, Margenthaler, 1110., Philadel of Pennsylvania phia, Pa., a corporation Application September 24, 1946, Serial N 0. 699,054

' l My invention relates to a radial gas compressor especially designed for compressing refrigerant gases. but which can also be used for compressing air and other gases. u One object of the invention is to produce an improved compressor of the type set forth. A further object is to produce an electric motordriven radial compressorwhich can be built and installed at less cost than comparable apparatus; which can be built in any capacity; which will be light and compact; which will operate relatively quietly and with no objectionable vibration, and which is completely explosion-proof, self-contained and hermetically sealed, and which may be operated completely submerged in water if necesy- A still further object is to produce a compressor inwhich the motor and the lubricant are effectively cooled and in which all movingparts are flooded with lubricant as long as the compressor isin operation. r

A still further object is to produce a compressor which is direct-driven so that no pulleys, belts, ldlers, gears, flexible couplings or other extraneous connecting or driving devices are needed; which has no packing glands or shaft seals; which re quires no special foundation or supporting base, andwhich has no water jacket which may freeze and burst or which may leak. r

compressor which may haveits volumetric capacity-modw lated from almost zero to substantially one hundred per cent of capacity, and one whichoperates at about ninety per cent volumetric efficiency at one hundred pounds per square. inch gauge pressure, and at about seventy-five per cent: volumultiple cylinder compressor in whichthe cylinheads; in which no bolts and nuts or other fastening devices are used onany moving parts; in which all parts are easily and readily dismantled or assembled, and in which all moving parts are symmetrical and interchangeable, whereby the cost of initial manufacture and the cost of servicing inthe field are greatly-reduced, and whereby the skill required in servicing the compressors is minimized. r A still further object is to produce a compressor inwhich the number ofmoving parts and the friction factor are both minimized, thus efiecting considerable saving in wear and in motive power. These and other, objects are attained, by my fifil's are provided with resiliently mounted false 1 Claim. (Cl. 230- 58) invention asset forth in the following specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section of a radial compressor embodying myinvention, looking in the direction of line l--l onFig. 2. s

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the compressor shown on Fig.1,certain parts being broken away to show details of construction.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the parts as they appear after the shaft has turned through an angle of ninety degrees from the position shown in Fig. 2. r o r Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the inner portion of one of the cylinders. I

, In Fig. 1 there is shown a vertically-disposed radial compressor with the base Ill thereof resting on a floor, platform or any other available support l2, the base being preferably firmly secured to the supDOrt by means of bolts passing through holes [4 and engaging the support l2. Note that the compressor must be in a vertical position for it to operate satisfactorily. The compressor is housed in a casing l 6, the bottom end of which is provided with a centerin and sealing rim which rests upon a gasket placed in an annular recess formed in'the top of the baselll, as at l8, and the casing is secured to the base by bolts l9. a

The casing I6 is provided with external ribs for reinforcing the structure and for dissipating heat, and with spaced internal ribs or pads 22 to which the stator 24 of a polyphase electric motor is secured by bolts 25. Within the stator is the rotor 26 which is keyed to a shaft 28 extending verti cally through the casing. The shaft 28 is provided with a through bore 29, the upper end of which discharges into a crankcase 30 and the lower end of which communicates withxa chamber 32. A nut 33 helps support the rotor on the shaft.

On the lower portion of the shaft is mounted a rotary pump 34, which is keyed to the shaft at 35 and which draws and. discharges through vertical ducts 36 and 37 which communicate, at their lower ends, with horizontal ducts 38 and 39, respectively. The inner ends of the ducts 38 and 39 lead to the chamber 32 and are closed by pivoted check valves. 40 and 4|. The outer ends of the ducts 38 and 39 lead into housings 42 and 43 disposed in a lubricant sump 44 formed in thelower portion of the base 10. The housings 42 and 43 are provided with bottom inlet openings 45 which are closed by gravity-operated plate valves46. When the pump is rotated in one direction, pressure develops in one of the ducts 36or 37. This pressure forces one of the valves 40 or 4| to open When the direction of the rotation is reversed,"

pressure will develop in the other of the ducts 36 or 31 and the other of the valves 40 and 4|, and. the valve 46 closing the inlet opening 46 in the other of the housings 42 or '43 is opened. It will be understood that when one ofthe valves 40 or 4| and its associated inlet valve 46 are open, the other of the valves 40 or 4| and its associated inlet valve 46 will be closed. By this arrangement, the

direction of rotation of the motor may, deliber through which the gas to be compressed is admitted. The gas admitted through the inlet 41 flows upwardly, through the spaces 49, provided between the ribs 22, to the suction ports of the cylinders, which will be described later. The gas, especially when it is a low pressure refrigerant gas withdrawn from the evaporator of a refrigerating apparatus, flows around, and effectively cools the motor, and because it also flows past or through the return lubricant which overflows from the crankcase 30 through one or more pipesBB, it also cools the lubricant. In this 1 connection it is also pointed out that the contact of the low pressure refrigerant with the motor and the lubricant will, under most normal circumstances, insure complete evaporation of any liquid refrigerant which may have'entered the casing through the inlet 41. This guards against. large amounts of liquid entering thecompression cylinders. The crankcase 30 is formed integral with a cylinder casting 5| secured to the upper end of the casing [6 by bolts 52, and a tight joint is produced by the means of a centering rim and a gasketed recess as shown at Illa. The casting 51 also carries a radial and thrust ball bearing 63 and a lubricant seal 53A which prevents lubricant from flowing onto the rotor 26. The only pressure against this lubricant seal is that caused by the height of the lubricant in-the crankcase 39 as the gas pressure in the crankcase 36 and 'the gas pressure in the motor casing l6 are the same.

The cylinder casting Si is cored to provide an inner, low pressure chamber 54 which houses the crankcase and communicates with the interior of the casing l6 and with the gas inlet 4'l through thepassages 49. Also cored into the cylinder casting 5| is a high pressure chamber 56, from which the compressed gas is discharged through an outlet 51. h

The cylinder casting 5| is also provided with a plurality of chambers 68 for accommodating the compression cylinders. In the present instance, there are six such chambers, only one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 2. Each chamber 68 is provided with an annular seat 59 for engaging the inner end of a separable'sleeve or cylinder liner 60, and with an annular shoulder 62 for enaging a correspondingly shouldered annular portion 63 near the outer end of the cylinder liner. The outer end 64 of the chamber 58 is closed by a head plate 65 which is secured in j position by bolts 66.

The outer portion of each cylinderliner is provided with a suction port 68 which is controlled by a ring type suction valve 10, and which communicates with the low pressure chamber 54, and

with the interior of the casing 16, through the passages 49. The suction valve 10 is seated in a. recess formed in an annular member 12, the inner face of which forms a continuation of the outerend of the cylinder liner 6!]. If desired, each cylinder may have a plurality of suction parts all of which will be controlled by the suction valve 16. Each of the cylinders is also pro vided with one or more discharge outlets which are controlled by a ring type valve 69 seatedin a recess formed in a'valve plate 14 which abuts the annular member 12. I j

The ring-type discharge valve shown requires a seat to limit its movement in the direction of the piston. If a seat is provided in-the usual manner, there will be a clearance-between the, outer face of the piston and the inner face of the valve, which clearance results in reduced vol umetric efficiency. To overcome, this difficulty, I secure to the inner side of the plate 14 a rounded member 16. Conveniently, a bolthaving a relatively large round head is used and is so disposed that the outer flat periphery 11 of the bolt head 16 serves as seat for the inner periphery of the valve 69, the outer periphery of the discharge valve 69 being adapted to seat against the adjacent outer face 19 of the annulus 12. When the piston is at the end of its compression stroke, the round head 16 of the bolt fits snugly in a recess formed in the outer end of the piston. By this construction the space or clearance left between the outer face of the piston and the inner face of the plate 14 issosmall that, when thecom pressor is operating at one hundred pounds gauge pressure, its volumetric eificiency will be about ninety per cent, and when the compressor operates at three hundred pounds gauge pressure, the volumetric eiiiciency will be about'seventy five per cent. I l

Thev discharge valve plate 14 also serves 'as a false head for the cylinder and is backed by-a spring confined between this valve plate and the outer head 65. e The spring so is strong enough to seat :the valve plate 14, firmlyagainst the annulus l2, and is weak enough to yield. under impact .so as to avoid injury to the. parts. -.For example, if one of the. valvereeds-should break; or if some other solid matter or a slug of liquid refrigerant. should lodge between the. piston-.18 andthe discharge valve 69, or between the piston and the round surface ofthe bolthead: 16, thfi spring, will yield and will thus prevent; serious injury. The round head of the bolt" al o. Iacils itates ejection, of solid or liquid matter s nce such matter under impact will tend, to glance off, the round surface of the bolt-head towardthe ring valve 69, to be discharged into thechamber 56, where it can do no harm. H y 4 Each piston is provided with a ,piston r od 2 which is, in turn, secured to a head 84 by -p1n -96, the design being generally the same as that of an airplane radial engine, andithie' rodf of one of the pistons is'secured'by two pins 86, .as'siibw'ii in'Fig. 3; The head 4 is carried by 'a' 'pin'ias'; which extends from a counterbalancing"segment 88 carried by'theupperendof' the shaft 28.

When the shaft 28 is rotatedjthe -headiid rotates relative to theupin B5and'also describes -a circle concentric with the axis eitheshaft 28. *By connecting one"of the piston .Lrods to the head 84 by means of. tWo pinsBG instead'of one such pin, the vibration of" the parts which would otherwise occulis eliminated or. at least minimized. it If it is desired to operate thecompressor at less than full volumetric capacity, one or more ports spaced inwardlytfrom the intakavalve 10, may be provided in the cylinder linings 60 so as to permitsome of the gas drawn into the cylinder on the suction stroke to by-pass back into the chamber54 as thepiston moves outwardly on the compression stroke. It will beseen that the bigger such holes are, the greater their number, and the nearerthey are to the valve Ill, the less the volumetric capacity of the cylinder. will be. For example, if the holes are provided at 89, the volumetric capacity of the unit will be reduced to an extent measured by the volumetric capacity of the cylinder to the left of said hole asshown in Fig; 1. By this means, theivolumetric capacity can be varied. from full towsubstantially zero without changing any other part of the Loompressor or its speed. Also note that insteadof using, suction ports such as 68. and a suction valve 10, as a means of drawing gas into the cylinders, ports 89., located in the walls of the cylinder liner 60, may be used. If thisis done, the annular members 12 would be merely. a filler ring or would be eliminated altogether by..extendin .the cylinder liner 60 to the present; position of .outer edge of theannulal membersw'lz. :1 Inorder to insure sufllcient heat dissipation, the stator. is provided with. vertically, disposed ribs 92 which are made of copper or other good heat conducting material and which project into the passages 49 so as to be in the path of the lubricant flowing downwardly from the crankcase 30 through the pipes 50. I

The casing 16 is also provided with an inlet conduit 54 which leads from a thermostatically controlled source of liquid refrigerant into the interior of the casing whereby, in response to temperature of a predetermined value, a small amount of liquid refrigerant is admitted for direct expansion inside the casing to cool the latter and the lubricant circulating therein. The evaporation of liquid refrigerant inside of the casing I6 is only resorted to when the cooling capacity of the low pressure refrigerant drawn through the inlet 41 is insufficient to maintain the temperature of the compressor at the desired value.

Operation When in use, the compressor is connected at I! to the evaporator or low pressure side of a refrigerating system, and is connected at 51 to the condenser or the high pressure side of such system, and the motor is started. The motor operates the lubricant circulating pump and the radial pistons and, as above pointed out, it does not matter in which direction the motor runs because, by provision of the valves 40 and 4! and the valves 46 in the housings 42 and 43, the pump will circulate the lubricant whether the motor runs in one direction or the other. The action of the pistons creates reduced pressure within the casing i6 and thus exerts suction, through the inlet 41, on the evaporator so as to draw the evaporated refrigerant and such refrigerant as may still be in the liquid state, from the evaporator into the casing l6 of the compressor. The

refrigerant. gas now flows i' upwardly Yidto v the chamber 54, and through the intake" ports (or '89 if a suction valve 10 is not' used), past the now unseatedvalve 10 into the cylinders whose pistonsare movingthrough theirsuction' strokes. The gas compressed by the pistons is discharged past the valves 69 into thethigh pressure-chamber 5B and through the outlet 51 to the condenser to be cooled and liquefied and re turned to the evaporator. As stated, the volumetric capacity can be more orless decreasedby providing one or more holes located at- 89 Oral: other. points along the length or the cylinder liner 609- T 1 The lubricant propelled by the pump travels upwardly through the bore 29 in the shaft 28 into the crankcase 301:0 fill the latter so as to insure that all movingpartsare at all times bathedin lubricant. From the crankcase, the lubricant overflows throughthe .pipe 50, overzthestator; to cool the latter-, and down throughthe passages 49 into the sump 44 in the lowerportion of the compressor. It will be noted that by this arrangement and by provision ofthe seal 53A, the lubricant does not reach the rotoror the gap between the stator and the rotor; I I' Sincethe lubricant'flows downwardly through the passages-through which the low pressure; low temperature refrigerantflows upwardly, there will be heat transfer betweeri thelubricant and the refrigerant which results in cooling the-'1- bricant and in evaporating any liquid "refrigerant that may have been drawn in from the evapo rator. As stated, the cooling action of the low pressure refrigerant normally drawn "from the evaporator, if not sufficient, can be'supple'mented by delivery of the required amount of liquidree frigerant to be directly evaporated or expanded inside the compressor.

Dismantling, assembly and servicing In order to have access to the pins 86, the crankpin 84, the counterbalance 88, or other adjacent parts, it is merely necessary to disengage the bolts 90 and remove the cap 92a.

To have access to any of the cylinders, their valves and their pistons, it is merely necessary to disengage the bolts 66 and remove the heads 65.

It will be noted that, except for the exterior fastening bolts 66 and an, no bolts or nuts are used and that all the moving parts and their bearings have a floating fit, one with the other. For example, if the head 65 is removed, the cylinder liner 60, together with all other parts between it and the head 65, may be installed 'or removed. Also, by virtue of the floating fit, the parts are capable of adjusting or locating themselves, thereby providing a flexible assembly which adapts itself to change in temperature and to a reasonable amount of wear.

Servicing of a unit such as that described is also rendered very easy and inexpensive. For example, if one of the valves 69 or 10 should need replacement, or if a piston ring should break, etc., the service man in the field need only shut the compressor oif from the refrigerating system, remove the head 55, the spring 80 and the plate 14. This will give him access to the cylinder liner, to the piston, to the annular member I! and to both of the valves, so that any or all of these parts can now be repaired or replaced.

mass .productlonand assembly of compressors is madepossible.

.iBy removinguthe bottom plate 95 .the rotary pump L3: and th'evalves 40 and M may be servioed.1and after the pump 34 and its key 35 have been removed, the compressor base In can be dropped by loosening bolts, I9. ,This will give access to the housin s 42 and 43, to thestator lliandrotor 26. V l

.13) removing the rotor nut 33 and the bolts 25 thestatorandrotor can beslipped out of the casing Hi. a 2.10 detach the casting -.5i from the casing l-fi, the bolts 52 are disengaged, and assuming that the plate 92a. has already been removed and'the pins 86 :pulled out, the shaft 28 and the bearing 53 can be taken out. This leaves the compressor completely dis 'assembled and any worn parts can bjereplaced. Because all parts which are subject to wear are inserted into, rather than built into the -;frame,pieces, a complete overhauling of the compressor takes a very short time, as standard parts can be ordered- .from a warehouse thereby eliminating extensive and costly machine work.

v-What I claim. is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: a a a Argus compressor-comprising a casing, a head detachably secured to'the upper end of said caslm, said head beinggcored to provide a crank essence a first chamber for receiving compressed gas, said head, in cooperation with the upper end of said casing, also forming a second chamber for receiving low, pressure gas, a plurality of cylinders mtrriedv by said vhead and having intake valves communicating with ,said second chamber and discharge valves leading to said first chamber, pistons for said cylinders, driving means in said case tor-actuating said pistons, a motor 8; in said casing, a hollow shaft driven by said motor and operatively connected to said driving means, said shaft extending iromnear the bob tom of said casing into said crank case, there being passages formed between said motor and said casing. a pump located in said casing, and operatedhy said shaft .for conveying lubricant from said casing, through said shaft, into said crank case, a spout :iorreturning lubricant from said crank case, through said second chamber, to the upper ends of said passages, means 101' conveying low pressure gas into said second chamber, and means for conveying compressed gas from said first chamber.

JOSEPH F. WINKLER;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record lnthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 634,335 Glasson Oct. 3, 1899 1,032,603 Hayner July 16, 1912 2,035,276 Replogle Mar. 24, 1936 2,071,870 Ballentine Feb. 23, 1937 2,073,547 Berry. .Mar. 9, 1937 2,113,691 Heller Apr. 12, 1938 2,139,996 Buchanan Dec. 1-3, 1938 2,179,268 Neeson .Nov. 7, 1989 2,185,473 Neeson Jan. 2, 1940 2,214,086 Rataiczak -1 Sept. 10, 1940 2,219,199 Renner Oct. 22, 1940 2,228,364 Jan. .14, 1941 2,261,263 Littlefield Nov. 4, .1941 2,286,272 Higham June 16, 1942 .Ponomareff et a1. .1. May 21, 1946 

